Sailor awarded for excellent leadership, professionalism, and dedication

Photo By Cpl. Krista James | Hospitalman Third Class Michael Boeji, a corpsman with Black Sea Rotational Force 14, removes an intravenous fluid catheter for IV training from HM3 Michael Fonseca, also a corpsman with BSRF-14, at the battalion aid station in Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania, Oct. 18, 2013. Boeji was chosen for Marine of the Week for his outstanding performance, leadership and initiative. Marine of the Week is an award to show appreciation to Marines and sailors with BSRF-14 for working hard day-in and day-out, having excellent leadership, caring about troop welfare and promoting the core values of honor, courage, and commitment.  

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, ROMANIA

10.18.2013

Story by 2nd Lt. Danielle Phillips 

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa     

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania - Marines and sailors with Black Sea Rotational Force 14 continue to be recognized for outstanding performance and leadership as the “Marine of the Week” at Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania.

Hospital Corpsman Third Class Michael Boeji, a field medical service technician with BSRF-14, was awarded Marine of the Week for his impressive coordination and leadership throughout the mass casualty drill conducted on base Monday.

“Coming up with the mass casualty drill was the hardest thing I have done on this deployment,” said Boeji. Paired with one other sailor, Hospital Corpsman Third Class Fonseco, Boeji was able to plan, coordinate, execute and review the training.

Hospital Corpsman Second Class Hopper, the assistant leading petty officer with BSRF-14, knew Boeji was an excellent corpsman and sailor long before deploying.

“You figure out who you want to bring [on deployment]. Which corpsmen do we want to bring? Who are we able to bring? Who is able to learn and soak in what you’re trying to teach them? And then who is able to take some stressful situations that are outside of your comfort zone and thrive? We brought the best of our best. The fact that [Boeji] can outshine his peers, that’s a pretty big deal,” said Hopper.

Hopper nominated Boeji for this specific award after recognizing his continued dedication to mission accomplishment through professional training. Boeji’s ability to create a dynamic and stressful training environment is a difficult task. Achieving that atmosphere directly contributed to the success of the exercise.

“From a medical standpoint, we try to get these guys to understand that you can be the best corpsman that there is, but if you don’t know how to manage a scene then it’s all for nothing. A mass casualty, essentially, is an overwhelming situation of the medical practice. As soon as you realize your assets are going to be overwhelmed, it doesn’t matter how good of a corpsman you are, it’s about your managerial skills and knowing what to do next on the scene,” said Hopper. “That’s something you’re never going to forget when you do a drill like that and you’re in utter shock to the point where you want to take a knee. I think it went well.”

Similar to most Marines and sailors, Boeji has a hard time differentiating his efforts from those of his peers. He remains humble and claims he is merely doing his job. He says this recognition will simply serve as a reminder to continue his positive trend and further develop his leadership skills while deployed in an environment that fosters personal and professional growth.

“As a junior corpsman in a clinic, you are taking vitals and you have a wider scale of patients that you may never know on a personal level. Then you get here and I knew my people and how to take care of them and what they needed. [This award] is going to be a motivation for the Sailors. For me, it reminds me to keep doing what I need to be doing — keep pushing forward.”

• Date Taken: 10.18.2013
• Date Posted: 10.18.2013 12:30
• Story ID: 115366
• Location: MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO
• Hometown: SALEM, VA, US